The President of the National Parliament, Lu Olo, said that with the
end of UNMISET mission, a group has emerged that appears and trying to
destabilised the current situation in Timor-Leste by scaring the
population. He said this group dislikes the Government. He added that they
distributing ID cards, creating rumours and dressing as ninjas just to
scare people. Lu Olo said that these people are outlaws, and he made an
appeal to the population not to fall into the trap of listening to false
rumours and spreading.

F-FDTL has no doubt about security

The Chief of Staff of F-FDTL, Colonel Lere Anan Timur, said that with
UNMISET's end of mission in May, F-FDTL has no doubt about the security in
Timor-Leste. He also said that only the National Police Force can
guarantee peace and stability in the country. Colonel Lere also said if
there is an external threat or provocation F-FDTL are ready with 24 years
of experience to confront any external treat.

PNTL warrants stability in TL

During a Police ceremony the National Police Commissioner, Paulo de
Fatima Martins, said that the Police have to strengthening solidarity
amongst themselves to guarantee peace and stability in this country. He
added that 2004 is the year of discipline for his men.

STL

PM stresses need for discipline and respect for human rights

The RDTL's Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri stressed yesterday the need
for members of PNTL's Rapid Deployment Service elite unit (RDS) to be
highly disciplined as they will be more heavily armed than regular police.
He added that they also need to earn the public's trust and the best way
to do it for RDS to strictly observe human rights. UNPOL Commissioner
Sandi Peisley echoed the Prime Minister's comments and added that only
those trainees who performed well and displayed the highest standards of
professional behaviour during training would be selected for RDS
deployment. The first batch of aspirants (120) started the first
eliminatory stage of the 3 month training programme being run by UNPOL in
cooperation with PNTL instructors. The RDS will be the specialist unit
within PNTL, supporting the Border Patrol Unit or deploying in other rural
areas of Timor-Leste when there is a threat level, especially from armed
groups, that cannot be met by regular police.

NGO's destroyed the Timorese mentality

The Head of the Institution Maun ho Alin iha Kristu (IMAK), Irma
Lourdes, said that the International Non Governmental Organisations
(NGO's) who are operating in Timor-Leste have destroyed the Timorese
mentality by giving them money. She added that the NGO's used the Timorese
poor status to be able to seek donations from international funders. Irma
Lourdes said that the NGO's were able to create discrimination with money
amongst the Timorese society and thus people lost trust in one another.
She added that the NGO's are only supporting and recruiting those Timorese
who can speak English and Portuguese, and because of this, the majority of
Timorese people see it as injustice and unfair.

There are no Ninjas, says Police Commissioner

The National Police Commissioner, Paulo de Fatima Martins, said that he
has not received any report about Ninjas operating in Ainaro and added
that the stories are only rumours. Mr Martins said that people who are
creating these rumours are doing it with an intention to scare the
population.

Aileu Hospital without food for patients

The Vice-Director of the Aileu Hospital, Manuela Ximenes, said that the
hospital cannot afford to cook food for the patients because the budget
allocated for the hospital was not enough. She added that food has been
delivered by a restaurant but they have not been able to pay the
restaurant owner. Mrs Ximenes also said that they had reported the
situation to the Ministry of Health but they still waiting for an answer.

Electricity still a problem in Baucau

The Chefe de Suco of Kaibada-Uaimua, Sub-District of Baucau, Carlos da
Costa, said that people in his region are not happy with the poor quality
of service that is provided by EDTL in Baucau. He added that until now
they have not been informed of the reason for the daily power blackouts.